


We're Gonna Get Out

by PhillyAndBear



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Claustrophobia, Gen, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 06:18:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5237588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhillyAndBear/pseuds/PhillyAndBear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall is fine when they get in the elevator. He is fine when Liam presses the button for the tenth floor. He is fine when the doors close. He is fine when the elevator starts moving. He's not fine when it suddenly stops. (based on the Sugarscape Interview with Liam)</p>
            </blockquote>





	We're Gonna Get Out

**Author's Note:**

> Warning for Panic Attacks, please don't read if this could trigger you!

When they get in the elevator Niall jokes around with the boys as usual. They had had a long day of interviews and all of them are looking forward to going up to their hotel rooms and finally getting some sleep. He sees Liam press the button for the tenth floor and then the doors of the elevator close. 

Niall doesn't like small spaces and he doesn't like elevators but what he likes even less is walking up ten flights of stairs when he's feeling tired. So he turns away from the closing doors and concentrates on what the boys are saying instead. He's just about to make a joke about something Harry said today in one of the interviews, when suddenly the elevator stops moving.

"Well, that was quick" Louis says, laughing. Because yes, it was quick, way too quick, there's no way they're on the tenth floor already. The doors don't open either.

Niall can feel himself starting to get a bit anxious so he turns to Liam, because Liam's the one who always knows what to do. "What's happening?"

"I think we're stuck" Liam sounds annoyed. He presses the emergency button and waits for someone to pick up on the other side but no one answers. "Great. Just great" He sighs.

"Come on Liam, it's not that bad. At least we have each others company" Louis laughs and bumps into Liam, making him stumble a bit.

"Yeah, come on Liam" Harry catches Liam and prevents him from falling over, he's smiling.

"Yeah, amazing" Liam tries to sound annoyed but he's laughing now.

The other boys continue to joke around but Niall isn't listening anymore. He's staring at the doors that won't open and tries not to freak out.

_Okay, Niall. You're going to get out of here. It's going to be fine. The elevator will start moving again soon or you will reach someone over the emergency phone and then you'll get out of here. It's no big deal. You're safe._

He takes a deep breath and thinks he might actually be able to control his anxiety when suddenly Liam and Louis start shoving each other around again and the elevator starts to shake.

_You're going to die. You're definitely going to die. This is it. This is your end. The elevator's going to fall down and then you'll be dead. You're never ever going to get out of here alive._

Niall closes his eyes and takes a shaky breath, trying to block out his thoughts. Because he knows they're just making everything worse, but they're so loud that he can't help listening to them and by now he's sure he's going to die. He knows he is.

"L..Liam?" His voice is quiet and you can hear that he's shaking.

"Yes?" Liam laughs, not noticing what state Niall is in.

"I..I want to get out"

"Bro, we're gonna get out" Liam is still laughing and then he turns back to Louis and Harry and they continue talking as if Niall isn't about to cry and as if they aren't all about to die.

"I.. I need to get out" Nialls voice is still quiet but then he gets louder. "I need to get out!" He's shouting now but he doesn't care. He doesn't care about anything besides getting out of here. He doesn't care that Liam, Louis and Harry are whispering behind him now but then he suddenly starts to care again. Because suddenly the elevator's shaking and he doesn't know why and he feels like it's about to fall down and he will die.

When he turns around he knows why everything is shaking. Liam, Louis and Harry are jumping up and down, laughing. They're laughing at him, because he thinks he'll die.

At the back of his head Niall knows that they're right and that he's being stupid, but it's too late to stop the panic now, especially with the elevator shaking, the floor trembling just as much as Niall is. He's going to die and there's nothing he can do about it.

His breath quickens and he presses his back to the wall behind him, trying to steady himself but everything's moving and he's not safe here. His chest is tight and he can't breathe. The other boys are still jumping and laughing and Niall can't breathe. He is hyperventilating now and he feels his hands starting to tingle because there's too much oxygen in his body and he knows he's going to die. His heart is racing and he feels like he might just be having a heart attack.

Niall slowly sinks to the floor, his back still pressed to the wall, and buries his head in his hands, unsuccessfully trying to calm his breathing. 

He's crying now and when he lets out a sob, the boys finally notice and they all stop jumping but it's too late. It's too late for Niall who doesn't even notice because by now he's shaking so much that it doesn't matter anymore if the elevator is shaking as well, to Niall it still feels like it is, to Niall it feels like the whole world is shaking.

"Niall?" Liam sounds unsure now and he sinks down on his knees in front of Niall.

Niall hears him but at the same time he doesn't. But he knows Liam is there, so he looks up. Because he has to tell Liam something. He has to tell him to get them out of there because can't he feel that the elevator is still shaking? Doesn't he know that...

"W..we're g..going t..t..to d..die" Niall's voice is barely more than a whisper and it sounds shaky and he's stuttering but Liam understands.

"We're not going to die, Nialler. I promise" Liam tries to keep his voice calm but he's scared. Why is Niall acting like this? Why is he shaking so much and why is he not breathing properly? Was it his fault for making fun of him, making the situation even worse for him?

"G..get me o..out of h..here. P..please Liam, please!" Niall knows that Liam can't make the elevator start working again, he knows that, but he's desperate. He needs to get out of here before he passes out or the elevator drops to the ground and kills them all. Because Niall isn't ready to die. There's so much he still wants to do and he can't die right now.

"O..okay. I will get you out of here, yeah? Do you hear me? I'm going to get you out of here" Liam is worried. Niall is crying and shaking and breathing way too fast and Liam doesn't know how to calm him down.

He gets up to try and reach someone over the emergency phone again and Louis and Harry immediately take his place by Nialls side.

"It's going to be fine, Niall" Harry tries to put a reassuring hand on Nialls knee but Niall flinches away from it like he just burned himself and Harry quickly takes his hand back again, looking scared. He doesn't understand what's happening to Niall.

Louis takes Harrys hand because he doesn't want him to freak out as well and to be honest, it calms him down just as much. He turns back to Niall, keeping his voice as calm and soft as possible. "Try to breathe with me, Niall, okay? Breathe in" He counts to 8. "And breathe out" He counts to 8 again.

Niall appreciates it, he really does, but he's too far gone for that. He can't feel his hands or his feet and his whole face is tingling because he's hyperventilating so much.

He tries to tell Louis but when he opens his mouth he feels like he's going to be sick so he quickly closes it again and just starts to frantically shake his head, hoping to get the message across that it's not working like this, that Louis has to think of something else if he doesn't want him to pass out.

Niall's still not breathing right and Louis doesn't know what to do.This is probably the first time that he has ever run out of words but he's scared, he's so scared, because he doesn't know what's happening to Niall and he doesn't know how to help him.

Harry hears Liam talking to someone and he hopes that they'll be out of here soon because this is hell. Niall is suffering and Harry feels so guilty. Because if they hadn't started to jump around then maybe it wouldn't have gotten this far and then maybe Niall would be fine."I'm sorry Niall. I'm so sorry" Harry can feel himself starting to cry as well and this is the last thing any of them need right now so he gets up and moves to the other side of the elevator to try and calm down.

Liam sits down in Harrys place and looks at Louis and Louis seems to understand him because he gets up and walks over to Harry, who's still crying quietly.

"Niall" Liams voice is quiet and soft and Niall looks at him. "They will get us out of here in ten minutes, okay? Only ten more minutes" He gives Niall what he hopes is a reassuring smile but Niall doesn't see.

All he can think about is that he has to stay in here for ten more minutes. Ten whole minutes. Ten minutes isn't a lot of time when they're playing a concert or hanging out or are having fun but it seems like infinity now.

Niall is sure he can't even last ten more seconds. His chest is hurting and his throat is on fire and he feels like he's going to pass out from lack of oxygen when in reality his problem is that there's way too much oxygen in his body, but his body doesn't seem to understand that, always gasping for more.

Nialls hands look weird with the way he's holding his fingers and it's scaring him, but he can't move them, can't even feel them really. His feet are numb aswell and he's sure if he had to stand up right now he wouldn't be able to.

He can't deal with this for ten more minutes, there's no way, so he tries to tell Liam.

"I..I c..can't" His voice gets caught in his throat and he stops talking.

Liam turns to the other boys. "Do any of you have a paper bag or anything like that?" His voice sounds pleading. He needs that paper bag because if he doesn't get it he doesn't know how to help Niall anymore and he can't just sit here and do nothing.

Louis shakes his head but Harry gets something out of his pockets. A vegetarian wrap which he bought for lots of money because it's supposed to be really healthy and good for you and he wanted to try it, but what's more important is that it comes in a paper bag, which he now hands over to Liam.

Liam turns back to Niall, paper bag in hand. "Okay Niall, place this bag over your nose and mouth and then breathe. You're going to be fine, I promise"

But Niall can't. His hands are shaking and his fingers are numb and he can't even take the bag from Liam.

"Shh. It's okay Niall" Liam tries to calm him "I'll hold it for you"

He takes the paper bag and slowly places it over Nialls mouth and nose and at first Niall tries to flinch away from it but then he's fine.

Niall's breathing into the paper bag and Liam is counting his breaths. After 8 breaths he takes the bag away, he knows that it's not good for Niall to breathe into it for too long either and Nialls breaths are still fast and desperate but when it's time to breathe into the bag again he holds it himself, because even though his hands are still shaking he can feel his fingers tingling now, so they aren't numb anymore.

Niall continues to breathe into the paper bag and his breaths are slowly, very slowly, starting to become more calm. He is still sure that he's going to die, knows that the elevator could drop down at any second, but at least he can feel his feet again and he doesn't feel like he's going to pass out anymore.

He's just about to start breathing into the bag for the fifth time when the elevator starts moving again. Niall reaches forward blindly and grabs Liams shirt, holding onto it tightly. He's sure that they're going to die now. But then he realizes that the elevator isn't moving down, it's actually going up, and his grip on Liams shirt loosens.

A few seconds later the doors finally open. Niall tries to get up but he can't, he's still shaking and his legs are too wobbly to hold him, so instead he just gets on all fours and crawls out of the elevator. He doesn't care how ridiculous he looks because he's out of the elevator now and he finally feels like he can breathe on his own again, like he's in control again.

Niall crawls over to the next wall and slumps down against it, taking a few deep breaths. He's slowly calming down.

When his breaths are finally calm and his heart stops racing, he looks up and sees the other three boys, all standing at the wall opposite of him, looking scared.

Liam sees Niall looking up and he walks over, sitting down beside him.

"Are you feeling better?" He sounds gentle and caring, the complete opposite of when Niall first started freaking out and Liam told him that 'Bro,we're gonna get out'.

Niall nods and looks down. His panic attack is over but he's tired and sad now.

"I'm.. I'm so sorry Niall" When Niall looks up again he is surprised to see that Liam's crying, but he doesn't say anything.

"I can't believe I was such an asshole and didn't take you seriously. I was so stupid" And Niall just nods again because he doesn't want Liam to feel bad but what he did wasn't right and he should have been there for Niall. Niall would've had been there for Liam.

"I.. I don't know what to say, Niall. I just want you to know that I'm truly sorry and I hope you can forgive me" Liam sounds so sad and Niall doesn't like that. Yes, Liam had been an asshole but he didn't know how bad Nialls panic attacks could get, he didn't realize what he was doing to him.

"I forgive you" Nialls voice is quiet but Liam hears him and smiles.

"Thank you Niall!"

Louis and Harry are coming over now as well and Niall can see the guilt on their faces and after they both apologize he tells them he forgives them.

They have a group hug then, right there, on the floor of the hallway of some random hotel and Niall is still tired but he's not sad anymore.


End file.
